Race, Family and the Trump Era

Never Miss A Story.

Daily Edition

2007-2008 Drama Pilots- NBC

Empty

NBC's hourlong development is across the board this year, and that's just fine with Katie O'Connell, the network's senior vp drama development, who is overseeing her first development slate since taking the top drama post in May.

"We try to pick up the best scripts and the ones we feel we can execute," O'Connell says. "We pick up shows that we think would find a place on the schedule."

Speaking of NBC's schedule, O'Connell says she and her team aren't necessarily trying to find a companion piece for the network's breakout hit "Heroes," though the "re-imagination" of "The Bionic Woman" for contemporary times would seem like a good fit.

Also on NBC's menu this season are the "Sex and the City"-esque "Lipstick Jungle"; a hard-boiled City Hall piece ("M.O.N.Y.," directed by Spike Lee); a few offbeat dramas ("Chuck," the David Semel-directed "Life"); and "Ft. Pit," from Denis Leary and Peter Tolan, which sounds like it falls somewhere between "Rescue Me" and "The Job."

"One thing we set out to do is to have a little bit more of a female focus than (NBC has had) in the past and to go for lighter crime procedurals," O'Connell notes, pointing to the untitled show centering on a female cop from David Shore, creator and executive producer of Fox's "House."

Overall, NBC's eight pilots are on par with the eight one-hours the network greenlighted last season.